Health official: Ga. hospitals see decrease in COVID-19 patients

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is reporting the state has reached its lowest number of COVID 19 positive patients hospitalized since early April.

Georgia hospitals reported about a 12 percent decrease in patients over the last week.

Dr. Charles Ruis, the Southwest Health District director for the Georgia Department of Public Health, said despite the end of most stay-at-home orders, not only hospital admissions, but the number of patients on ventilators and the number of positive cases while testing more Georgians are all showing improvements, even in the hot spots of Southwest Georgia.

“This would be good news even if we were still sheltering in place,” said Dr. Ruis. “But we’re not. We’re actually getting out and conducting some business, but even in the face of coming out of our homes gracefully, the numbers continue to go in the right direction overall.”

Ruis said he has seen no evidence that any Georgia official has altered or changed numbers to make the trends appear more successful.

While Dr. Ruis said the numbers are mostly positive, it’s important that South Georgians continue to practice safe health guidelines, which include wearing a mask, washing your hands and practicing social distancing. He said South Georgia stands to lose a lot if those practices are abandoned.